“He suffered an embolic stroke and recognizes absolutely no one,” said José Marquina, a respected doctor who in the past has claimed to have direct information about the illness affecting President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela.

Raul Castro just gave the big boot to a bunch of his older brother’s cronies in the Cuban “government,” AP is reporting. Via Yahoo! News:

President Raul Castro abruptly ousted some of Cuba’s most powerful officials Monday, remaking the government in the biggest shakeup since he took over from his ailing brother Fidel Castro a year ago. The changes replaced some key Fidel loyalists, including the longtime foreign minister, with men closer to Raul.

Rut ro! Could this mean Raul is gearing up to make THE big announcement that Fidel is dead? Vicki Huddleston, formerly the highest ranking U.S. diplomat in Cuba, asks:

“This would seem to indicate this is a consolidation of Raul, which then makes you think, `What about Fidel?’”